Wife Cakes

Office treats are fun in Singapore. I don't remember what it was like in the US/NYC, and I can't imagine what people brought to the office when they traveled to...Chicago? Boston? San Fran? I mean, I'm sure there are fun things, it's just that they're also probably available in NYC. In Singapore, if you go on a business trip, it is, by definition, international. If you take a flight, you must leave Singapore. This means that office treats are usually quite fun. Right now we have Turkish tea, Licorice (I brought that from America - it's a slow take-up here...), pineapple cakes from Hong Kong, amazing tea from Mauritius, and wife cakes from Taiwan.

Being the Diversity and Inclusion team of our bank, our team raised a red flag at "wife cakes." Sounded sexist. So we first asked the Chinese on our floor. The best they could do is give me the Cantonese translation. They didn't know where the name came from, but they said that in Cantonese it is indeed also "wife cakes." We turned to google, which directed us to wikipedia, and we learned that there's sort of a nice story (but a bit bizarre) behind these wife cakes.

Apparently, a long time ago in China, a guy's dad got sick. He and his wife got rid of everything they had to try to get enough money to save the dad. They ran out of things to sell, and he was still sick, so the wife sold herself. The guy apparently really liked that, so he named a pastry after her. Interesting.

In other news, Matt is diving, and I'm having the most relaxing weekend so far. Hung out with friends last night, finished my book this morning. Recommended, but buy it full price, not second hand, because the proceeds go to her and her education. I cleaned, I did research for an upcoming trip, I talked to Shana, laundry, swam and relaxed. I also went to the mall and got three dresses and three tops. I was going to get a foot massage, but because I bought so much stuff, I decided to forgo the massage. (It's the mental accounting thing, and clothes and massage are both in the same mental category = luxury good that I don't REALLY need).

Every single time I go to a mall I have the same thoughts - isn't anyone EVER in a hurry in Singapore? Even if they're not in a hurry, don't people just want to GET wherever they're going, rather than walk really slowly, four abreast, and zigzagging from side to side?

Today, though, I was noticing how damn loud the mall was. It was so so loud - I didn't think I would be able to make a phone call. Then a marching band came through. Literally. Up and down the escalators. Because it wasn't loud enough.